ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses site-specific delivery using nanocarriers based on pharmacokinetic considerations. As far as tissue distribution is concerned, because a nanocarrier possesses several features common to the macromolecule, the pharmacokinetics properties of the macromolecule are also summarized. Nanotechnology has allowed improvement of a novel drug carrier, nanocarrier, involving the nanoscale size and capable of targeting different cells in the body. The focus is on anti-tumor drugs and, although various anti-tumor drugs have been developed for cancer chemotherapy, such drugs often cause severe side effects related to the high cytotoxicity to tumor cells, and they are often toxic to normal cells. Therefore, a carefully designed nanocarrier is required to deliver anti-tumor drugs to their target sites for effective chemotherapy. Polymeric micelles prepared from cationic copolymer could be a novel gene carrier. Dendrimers are an attractive carrier for gene delivery because they can interact on an electrostatic charge basis with biologically relevant polyanions because their surfaces are covered with primary amino groups.
